Magic is the Heart of Things
by Ardonius-Servant-Of-Zeta
Summary: SlayersAQ for starters, it'll change soon though.


The sound of armor lightly clanking together filled the damp forest air. The trees were wet with dew, and the scent from the moist pine strewn across the forest floor and the trees was pleasing. A damp grey fog had also made its way in, making the scent almost depressing. A steady, faint clanking and thumping sound filled the air, creating a steady rhythm.

Zaxis, a bandit with the Dragon Fangs, frowned. That sound meant little to most people, it was extremely faint and only ears like a fox could catch it. However, to a bandit…or rather, a good bandit, it meant that a knight was coming. At the very least, it meant someone in armor, and 9 out of 10 times a man in armor was a knight.

Zaxis had survived as a bandit because he was cautious. He padded his mail armor to dampen the sound, and dressed entirely in dark greens and browns. A dark brown cloak accompanied that, as cloaks had many useful uses. His blue hair, which was a little spiky and stuck straight up, was easily coverable with his hood. Erring on the side of caution as he did on the job, he quickly brought his hood over his head, and brought his cloak around himself. His hiding spot in the brambles was perfect, impossible to see him inside, and he had dug out a whole incase he needed to hide for a time.

His job was to use his bow, or his blade, to waylay travelers for their goods. He was to ignore most travelers, only those of value were worth the time. If they preyed on too many normal travelers, the kingdom would send knights to eradicate them, and because of their dragon would send sorcerers as well. As long as it was a small problem, they would ignore it. Adventuring wizards and mercenaries would invariably take care of it after all.

The sound grew more and more distinct, but it never grew especially loud. Zaxis had sharp eyes and ears, but even he could only see so far through the fog. He squinted, trying to get better focus, and stopped as soon as he could see a silhouette in the fog. It was not a normal knight that much he was sure of.

Every moment he inspected the armored person he could see more and more, and every moment made him more nervous. This man, as Zaxis doubted a woman would wear such heavy armor, was a titan. Easily seven feet tall, and covered from head to toe in steel. The steel was a worn out looking gray, with small cracks hear and there along the metal. The shoulder pauldrons were rounded, and had a dragon's claw erupting from each side. The steel was shaped to appear almost completely solid, with faint scale like marks hear and there. The armor appeared almost like one piece, ending with the leg pieces made to look like a dragon's talon.

The helm was the most imposing piece. Shaped like a dragons head, silver-gray fur from some kind of wolf was on the back, and where the dragon's mouth opened, the man's mouth was set in a line. There was almost no expression, except a faint…listlessness? As if the man faintly wished, he could have something he could not have sitting directly in front of him.

Any thoughts of killing the man while he did not know he was there were out of the question. There was no weakness in the knight's armor; even the dragon claw gauntlets had no chain mail at the wrists. The armor looked like one solid piece, how could the man move? Yet as the knight moved, the armor bent at parts like it was malleable, without losing its impregnable look. Zaxis came to one conclusion…it was made of extremely close fitting scales. Like a dragons.

Fingering his bow nervously, Zaxis wondered what this titan's purpose was here. Judging by his armor, Zaxis knew it had to do with their dragon. It was his duty to warn the boss…but Zaxis had other plans. He was going to gather as much loot as he could, and leave. The Dragon Fangs were ending, and as people loved to compare bandits to rats, it was time to leave the sinking ship.

_//////////Breaking//////////Point//////////_

The leader of the Dragon Fangs was a happy man. His band had brought in a great deal of loot, and now they were had more gold, jewels, and other assortments of items than they knew what to do with. He was considering getting out of the bandit profession, and turning his band into a mercenary guild. As time went on, he could build an army and hen a kingdom for himself. Heh, King Frren. He was already a King; he just needed to extend his boundaries!

Frren was brought from of his delusions of grandeur by the appearance of Zaxis, one of the best men in his motley crew. Zaxis knew no magic, and while good with a sword was no master…but the man was a sharp shooter, and was a damn clever bastard. It was with him that he started this band, and Zaxis got a great share of the loot, after Frren got his lion's share of course.

"Zaxis! Wher've yah been! The parties al'ready started!" Frren's speech was only a little slurred, as he cheerily waved his mug at his loyal friend, and took a deep gulp from the mug of ale he'd helped himself too.

Zaxis looked more nervous than usual, and he was running his hands through his hair. Frren had worked with him long enough to know what that meant. "Frren, I was by Talon's path, watching for some easy game. A knight came through, he was dressed in the most amazing armor I've ever seen, and it was all dragon-like. I think he's some kind of sorcerer."

The air of boisterous stupidity that seemed to have surrounded Frren disappeared, and he appeared grave. The rest of the huge band was still having the time of their lives, but it meant nothing to Frren. "Was this armor…bendable, yet seemed to be made of rigid plate mail?" Zaxis nodded at Frren, who cursed. "Have you ever heard of the Dragon Slayers?"

Zaxis shook his head. "I've heard of some people who slay dragons for a living…but you make it sound like some kind of order."

Frren stared at the swirling contents of his ale. It was dark brown, and the alcohol inside it seemed very inviting right about now. "They are. They came from another continent, or world maybe, centuries ago. Their history is almost completely unknown. The point is, they make their living off giving dragons who harm innocents, ravage towns, that sorta thing. They also employ themselves like normal mercenaries. They are master swordsmen and can use magic." Frren completely drained his cup, and tossed it aside.

"What should we do?" Zaxis asked. He knew what he was doing, but he could not get around to doing it until most of them had passed out drunk. He had expected them to be when he got here, which is why he was talking to Frren, not looting. Nevertheless, he figured he could change his plans easily enough.

Frren tapped his throne, and then nodded to himself. "Enjoy our last few minutes on earth, because that knight is probably already here." A large fireball flew into the sky, and began to fall. Frren nodded. "Bye Zaxis. It was nice knowin' ya, even if you do smell like dog shit." Zaxis snorted and dove behind the throne as the fireball came down, the explosion causing all of the structures to catch aflame, and killing almost anyone in a several hundred-foot radius. Luck was on Zaxis's side, as the throne was made of metal, so he only got hot.

"Wow, look at all this treasure! These guys must have been in business for awhile…" The sound was a girls voice, she sounded young too. Zaxis's made began to work on this, and pieced some things together.

Fireball in the sky.

Young girl who appears after fireball.

Thinking about their treasure.

Just killed many bandits with no remorse.

His eyes widened, dear god it was Lina Inverse! All thoughts of the dragon knight fled from his mind. Lina Inverse was here! Zaxis tore off his cloak and tied it up into a serviceable sack, and began to load it with gold. He also grabbed several magical items that he could identify.

A statue of a priestess caught his eye…but something about it made him leave it alone. It gave him a bad vibe, and right now, he was taking no choices. Remembering something, Zaxis peeked from behind the throne and saw Lina was coming. Dear god…she looked so young, maybe a little cute, and completely unthreatening. However, her cheerfulness in spite of all the flames, and the sinister aura that rolled from her…it made her absolutely terrifying.

Zaxis spotted a little trail down from the mound of gold he was on and quietly rolled down, and crawled towards a nice, dark, safe corner. Far away from Lina, or at least out of her evil eyes. Were they red? Because from here, they looked red. Dear god, could she see him? Zaxis crawled up by the mound and covered himself in the gold. If he could not see her, she could not see him. He continued to repeat that in his head, maybe it would come true.

Lina Inverse stared at the cowering bandit who had covered himself in gold coins who was whispering something to himself. "Aww, I feel kina bad for him. Well, I guess he's not going to be doing anything." She completely forgot about him as she went back to looting…she _loved_ looting! The gold everywhere, the fire reflecting off there polished surfaces was quite beautiful. Magical items were strewn all over the place, and Lina happily filled herself a sack of treasure, and regretfully left the rest. She could not care it all…besides, what she had would last her a long time.

Thus, Lina Inverse left the base of the Dragon Fang bandits burning, and losing some of their massive loot. The loot was not the major loss. It was the loss of so many men, Frren, and the complete destruction of their base. Zaxis got up from his hiding spot, and shame filled his gut. He had acted like a spineless coward…with a numb sullenness; Zaxis went to the burning stable and grabbed a horse from it, and a still serviceable cart. He placed as much treasure as the horse could drag on it, and looked around of awhile until he found the magic sword he had pulled from a knight a year ago. Frren had not let him keep it…it was his again.

Zaxis left the burning base about an hour after Lina had, and he felt like some part of him died back there. Was it his heart…or his dignity?

A pair of blank eye sockets watched the man leave. The empty dragon eyes of the helm were complete shadow, making them appear eyeless. The firm line of the Dragon Knight's mouth curled into a faint smile for a moment, before returning to their former faint, listless expression. He turned to the mountain, and had no reaction to the cries of the dragon that lay inside its cage. His fingers tapped the hilt on his back. The blade that lay within was larger than most blades, and far more ornate. It was a very special blade…he wished it was the Dragon Blade, but Lord Galanoth had carried the last one to his grave.

Instead, he wielded a blade called Dark Law. It was black, with grayish black runes running along the obsidian colored blade. The hilt was ornate, shaped like a dragon's mouth, and the fire it was releasing was the blade. It was a very intimidating weapon, but what made it most interesting was that most people did not notice it. A very complex enchantment left by his sorcerous friend, it caused most who looked at it to be completely uninterested in it. In a battle that generally did not work, but it made it easy to bring weapons into places he would not normally be allowed.

Another shrieking howl. The Knight took his blade out of its sheath, and pointed it towards the part of the mountain where the dragon lay. Reddish flame began gather at the tip, growing larger and larger, until it was the size of a boulder. Then it was released, and flew at an incredibly quick rate, impacting into the mountain with a massive explosion.

Now the fight truly began. His lips curled in an upwards motion as the silhouette of a serpentine head came through the dust…

_//////////Breaking//////////Point//////////_

Zaxis walked alongside the brown roan, which was not very happy with its current job. "Life sucks, doesn't it?" The horse actually nodded, and Zaxis sighed. "I thought that I'd lost my heart, that I was a callous bastard who only cared about himself. But I still have feelings…" The Roan made neighing sound that sounded vaguely like "same here'.

"I don't think I'm really cut out for this occupation. I always had this weird feeling when I robbed people…I guess it wasn't excitement. It was guilt." The horse butted him lightly, and Zaxis absently scratched it. The horse neighed, and Zaxis reached into a pouch by his waist, and fed it a fistful of oats. The horse seemed quite content with this. As soon as it was done, Zaxis wiped his hands off and patted it affectionately.

"I guess we're friends now, eh?" The horse nodded almost…wisely? Zaxis already decided not to pay that any mind and continued his way, along with his horse, to Atlas city. He could sell of whatever extra loot he had and buy some provisions, a saddle, whatever else he needed. Then he…would do something. Probably get a job a guard.

That is all, for now. I forgot to put in a disclaimer…so…

I do not own Slayers or AQ. They belong to their prospective owners.

Any other crossovers that may appear…I do not own those either.


End file.
